ELEVATED VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH-FACTOR LEVELS IN SERA OF PATIENTS WITH LUNG-CANCER

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression h as been observed in several malignant tumors, and VEGF level in serum appears to be correlated with tumor burden in cancer patients. patient s arid Methods: Serum VEGF levels were measured in 70 patients with lu ng cancer including 23 with adenocarcinoma, 19 with squamous cell carc inoma, 3 with large cell carcinoma, and 25 with small cell carcinoma, and in 30 patients with benign lung disease and 13 healthy subjects wi th an enzyme immunoassay. Results: VEGF levels (mean +/- SD;pg/ml) wer e 834 +/- 699 and 732 +/- 529 in patients with lung cancer and benign lung disease, respectively, and were significantly higher than those i n healthy subjects (264 +/- 129) (P<0.01). There were no differences b etween VEGF levels categorized by histology, disease stage, or distant metastasis for lung cancer patients. Conclusions: Although serum VEGF levels were increased in lung cancer patients, this increase might no t have been related to tumor burden.